Senate Briefs: Week of September 17

With seven candidates for first-year class president and six applications for secretary, Scripps Associated Students is in the midst of a dynamic election season. Fliers have been posted around the Scripps College campus and all the residence halls, including the off-campus collegiate apartments, where 38 first-year students are housed this year. Speeches took place this Tuesday in the Student Union, and the 24-hour online voting occurred afterward.

Alix Hunter SC '20, the faculty-staff relations chair, reported about a possible collaboration with the dean of faculty office. Hunter met with Dean of Faculty Amy Marcus-Newhall last week to discuss curricular diversity and procedural items. She also added that the Barbara and Scott Bice Faculty-Student Dialogue Fund, a Scripps fund that promotes student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom, will be releasing applications next week.

Nastia Kourotchkina SC '20

Pitzer College Student Senate

The meeting opened with a presentation by a student representative from the Pitzer Psychological Student Association. The club intends to be a collective space for intended or declared psychology majors to access potential employment or higher-education opportunities. The Senate voted on the approval of the new club, and PPSA was chartered.

Next, office of college advancement staff member Nancy Treser-Osgood presented on the two-year continuation of Switchboard, a Pitzer student-alumni network app that provides resources and opportunities such as internships and job offers.

54-B-01, a bill to establish and allocate $10,000 for the Student Initiative Fund, was then passed with a simple majority. 54-R-01, a resolution to support DACA recipients and the undocumented community, was passed with a simple majority. 54-R-02, a resolution in support of establishing trigger warnings in classes at Pitzer, was introduced.

Vice President Lora McManus PZ '18 declared that 54-R-02 on trigger warnings will not be a mandate but a recommendation, and the proposition will be voted on next week. McManus added that on Oct. 19 a speaker will be invited to talk about healing on sexual violence.

Treasurer Jacquelyn Aguilera PZ '19 presented on the recent budgetary committee’s funding of several student organizations and individual student activities, such as providing a $300 fund to the Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy and a $300 fund to a student attending the 2018 global herbalism conference.

A representative from the Women’s Brewing Club presented on her club's prospective activities. The Senate approved the charter of the club with a vote.

Angela Tran

Associated Students of Harvey Mudd College

The Associated Students of Harvey Mudd College voted last Sunday to give some or all of the budget money requested to the following clubs: Engineers Without Borders, Gymnastics Club, Skate Club, Bobbing Along (Sewing) Club. It declined a budget request from the Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy. The ASHMC will also be paying for the umbrellas and part of the Turf Dinner fees from the club fair last week, and for food at the upcoming club leader training session.

Additionally, ASHMC voted to add a rule to the college’s noise policy prohibiting the use of speakers in public without permission. ASHMC will also be responsible for managing the money the administration is giving to each community group on campus ($2000 each).

ASHMC will be allocating funds from a process called student-selected funding, through which each member of the Mudd student body can choose to donate 10 percent of student-use money, or about $25, to one of five major student organization categories. The funds are then distributed proportionally among all the clubs. Last year, only 37 percent of the student body used student-selected funding, but ASHMC believes that if more students are made aware of it this year, more will contribute.

Leah Kelly

Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College

The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College met on Monday and discussed the introduction of a major events calendar. The calendar would include all of the dates of upcoming large events on campus, which would keep students informed and help them plan event attendance. The committee members creating the schedule are planning to collaborate with multiple CMC organizations, including the college programming board, the arts council, the Kravis Leadership Institute, the International Place, the CARE Center, the Soll Center, and Roberts Pavilion.

The collaboration would require the organizers to do more planning in advance. Some board members expressed a concern that major events around the 5Cs constantly switch, and it would be hard to provide accurate information on the calendar. Nevertheless, the potential calendar could help promote events around the 5C campuses. As of now, most information about those is spread through Facebook, other social media platforms, or word of mouth. The calendar will help create a more transparent and organized picture of the social scene.